Taiwanese officials are to bring up the procurement of Lockheed Martin F-35B jets and submarine technology in the Monterey Talks, an annual high-level defense dialogue in the US scheduled for the middle of next month.
The precise time and location of the talks is classified.
It is believed that key members of the US government are to be present, a high-ranking official said on condition of anonymity.
Photo: CNA
It is to be the first round of the talks since US President Donald Trump took office.
The meeting is the highest level of dialogue between the two nations.
Historically, it is attended by the top leaders of the two nations’ defense, intelligence and diplomatic establishments, as well as the commander of the US Pacific Command, the director of the American Institute in Taiwan and Taiwan’s representative to the US.
Previously, it was reported that President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration wished to upgrade its delegation by sending National Security Council Secretary-General Yen Teh-fa (嚴德發), but the official dismissed the story.
The Cabinet, following precedent, instead named council Deputy Secretary-General York Chen (陳文政) as envoy.
Vice Minister of National Defense Pu Tze-chun (蒲澤春), Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Paul Chang (章文樑) and Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Lin Cheng-yi (林正義) are also expected to attend.
The US government has not fixed its list of attendees, the official said in response to speculation about which US officials would attend.
“Experience tells us that high-ranking officials often do little more than show up at the banquet before leaving, giving little time to talk. The important thing is to meet officials who are in charge of things that are relevant to us,” the official added.
Last month, the Trump administration approved the sale of eight classes of weapons and technologies, including ground-attack missiles and torpedoes — a sale that was originally scheduled to be approved before Trump took office.
However, the Tsai administration also wants to buy F-35B jets — a variant of the fifth-generation fighter-bomber that is capable of vertical takeoff and short landings — and wishes to obtain technology for the nation’s domestic submarine program.
The F-35B’s ability to operate from improvised runways could be a boon to Taiwan’s defense if its airbases came under attack by Chinese missiles, while domestically built submarines would be important in attrition and defense.
However, the nation’s diplomats talk about arms sales whenever they meet US defense officials, the official said.
“Such discussions are certainly to be expected at the Monterey Talks. We also anticipate that no immediate conclusion will be reached at the meeting. The US side is not going to say yes or no on the spot. Instead, they are going to speak in ambiguous terms and take the transcripts back for further consideration,” the official said.
When asked to comment on the possibility that the US Navy might make port calls in Taiwan, the official said that the issue rests with the US Congress in its review of the National Defense Authorization Act for the US’ next fiscal year.
“As a matter of etiquette, the executive and legislative branches need to be kept separate. It will not be appropriate to talk about this with their executive departments,” the official said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) on Wednesday said that a new chip manufacturing technology called “A16” is to enter production in the second half of 2026, setting up a showdown with longtime rival Intel over who can make the fastest chips. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract manufacturer of advanced computing chips and a key supplier to Nvidia and Apple, announced the news at a conference in Santa Clara, California, where TSMC executives said that makers of artificial intelligence (AI) chips will likely be the first adopters of the technology rather than a smartphone maker. Analysts said that the technologies announced on
NO RECIPROCITY: Taipei has called for cross-strait group travel to resume fully, but Beijing is only allowing people from its Fujian Province to travel to Matsu, the MAC said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday criticized an announcement by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism that it would lift a travel ban to Taiwan only for residents of China’s Fujian Province, saying that the policy does not meet the principles of reciprocity and openness. Chinese Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Rao Quan (饒權) yesterday morning told a delegation of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers in a meeting in Beijing that the ministry would first allow Fujian residents to visit Lienchiang County (Matsu), adding that they would be able to travel to Taiwan proper directly once express ferry
CALL FOR DIALOGUE: The president-elect urged Beijing to engage with Taiwan’s ‘democratically elected and legitimate government’ to promote peace President-elect William Lai (賴清德) yesterday named the new heads of security and cross-strait affairs to take office after his inauguration on May 20, including National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to be the new defense minister and former Taichung mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) as minister of foreign affairs. While Koo is to head the Ministry of National Defense and presidential aide Lin is to take over as minister of foreign affairs, Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) would be retained as the nation’s intelligence chief, continuing to serve as director-general of the National Security Bureau, Lai told a news conference in Taipei. Koo,
MANAGING DIFFERENCES: In a meeting days after the US president signed a massive foreign aid bill, Antony Blinken raised concerns with the Chinese president about Taiwan US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and senior Chinese officials, stressing the importance of “responsibly managing” the differences between the US and China as the two sides butt heads over a number of contentious bilateral, regional and global issues, including Taiwan and the South China Sea. Talks between the two sides have increased over the past few months, even as differences have grown. Blinken said he raised concerns with Xi about Taiwan and the South China Sea, along with China’s support for Russia and its invasion of Ukraine, as well as other issues